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Twelve Kern schools listed among states lowest performing

BY JORGE BARRIENTOS, Californian staff writer
jbarrientos@bakersfield.com | Monday, Mar 08 2010 07:17 PM

Last Updated Monday, Mar 08 2010 07:17 PM

Twelve Kern County schools have been named in a preliminary list of the state's lowest-performing schools, much to the surprise of some local school leaders.

It means the schools will need to make dramatic reforms as required by state and federal law.

The schools are in the bottom 5 percent of the state's "persistently lowest achieving schools" -- calculated using student test scores, among other things -- according to a first-of-its kind report released by the California Department of Education on Monday.

"This is an opportunity to make dramatic changes at chronically underperforming schools," state schools Superintendent Jack O'Connell said in a statement.

The districts overseeing the affected schools will have to pick one of four routes for reform.

* The "turnaround model" includes replacing the principal and rehiring no more than 50 percent of the school's staff, adopting a new governance structure and more.

* The "restart model" closes the school and reopens it as a charter school.

* The "school closure model" closes a school and enrolls its students in other schools that are higher achieving.

* The "transformation model" implements school improvement strategies, such as replacing the principal and increasing instructional time.

Kern County schools make up 12 of nearly 200 schools listed statewide. Arvin Union Elementary School District is the only Kern district with two schools listed.

"It's not good news to find your schools are on a list that indicates achievement not being as high as we expected it to be," said Arvin Union Superintendent Jerelle Kavanagh, who has been with the district for 15 years. "It's disheartening."

Arvin's two schools, along with eight other county schools, are currently under federal Program Improvement -- for schools that have failed to meet academic benchmarks -- and receive federal Title I funding, for low-income students. One school, Community Learning Center, a continuation high school under the Kern County Superintendent of Schools, was listed because its graduation rate was below 60 percent.

Kern County Superintendent of Schools Christine Frazier said she has concerns about the new program. Schools chosen, for example, failed to meet state goals in the past five years, but Shirley Lane Elementary has only been opened for four. And Boron's school scored higher on tests than many other schools not named.

"They make it sound like these schools are not achieving and that's not true," Frazier said. "All of them are making progress."

It also concerns Frazier and others that the law does not yet spell out when schools must start implementing the reforms -- nor does it set deadlines for improvement.

On the bright side, she said, the schools chosen only represent about 5 percent of the county's students, and no schools from the largest districts -- Bakersfield City School District and Kern High School District -- were named.

Frazier said the county office of education will work with each affected district to get them off of the list. Schools who reach state testing benchmarks this year can exit the program.

Beardlsey School District Superintendent Dick Stotler said he was surprised to see Beardsley Intermediate named because it has been on Program Improvement for just two months. The school has implemented positive changes already, he said, like transitioning it to a K-6 school, meeting with teachers and looking at data.

The district and the people in it know what's best for the schools and keys to making them better, he said.

"It's difficult for an outside source to come in and make those determinations," said Stotler, who started in the district in 1973.

One-time federal funds are available to help with changes -- from $50,000 to $2 million -- to districts that apply, but applying is not mandatory. The program is part of President Barack Obama's education plan. The State Board of Education will vote on the low achieving schools list on Thursday to make it official. For more information on the list, go the state department's website at www.cde.ca.gov/ta/ac/pl.